Until his death in August, 2015, the Labor Commissioner was Mark Costello, a Republican, who defeated the incumbent Lloyd Fields, a Democrat in the November 2010 election.

In November 2015, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin appointed Melissa McLawhorn Houston to serve out the remainder of Costello’s term.

Houston did not seek reelection to the position in the 2018 election, and was succeeded as Commissioner by Leslie Osborn.

In August of that year, delegates from the labor unions of the Twin-Territorial Federation of Labor, the State Farmers' Union and the Railroad Brotherhoods met in Shawnee, Oklahoma, to formulate a list of demands for the upcoming constitutional convention.

As such, the vast majority of the Labor Commissioner's responsibilities are determined by acts of the Oklahoma Legislature.